Alberta Ferretti / Pre-Fall 2014

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This season, Alberta Ferretti was inspired by the seascape pictures of Iceland shot by Austrian photographer Josef Hoflehner. “Day or night, the ocean is so beautiful in his photos. The light is so strong,” Ferretti explained, pointing to a fabric she created in response to his images: a rich, duchesse jacquard that mimics a glowing sea and sky, with clouds woven in luminous metallic turquoise thread. It’s used in a number of pieces—a ballroom skirt, a tunic top, a round-shouldered coat, and a skirted tank dress—and is striped in phosphorescent yellow and a more textured rust color around the hem. “It’s not a direct interpretation [of Hoflehner’s work],” Ferretti said. “Just an influence. A scene of the night. It’s poetic.”

Moving on to other parts of the collection, the designer explained that this season is more masculine than she’s used to. For example, rigid denim, something she never works with, makes an appearance on a jacket and a clean, straight-leg trouser. The silhouette, in general, is boxier and not as nipped-at-the-waist. More fortitude, less flirt. “I worked femininity in with the details,” she said, gesturing to the elaborate metal embroidery applied to collars, pocket flaps, and side seams—places where, not coincidentally, naval uniforms are most commonly embellished. There’s the ocean’s influence, again—many of the embroidery motifs are star-shaped, resembling military medals. And, these embroideries, dense, three-dimensional, and all done by hand, are echoed on bronco boots and smaller handbags, and turned into necklaces and brooches, too.